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Team Communication
How To Fix a Broken Team
Broken teams are all too common. The signs are obvious: checked out team members, non-existent communication, and low energy and morale. If you find yourself at the helm of a broken team, there's good news—it's not too late to fix it.
In our latest Leadership & Management article, Mike Karampalas outlines the actions you can take today to repair your broken team. The hardest part will be checking your ego and opening yourself up to feedback from your team.
The Boss Wants You Back in the Office
Big businesses have embraced flexible work practices, but fewer of them seem to favor full-time working from home. International Business Machines Corp., Aetna Inc., Bank of America Corp., Best Buy Co., Honeywell International Inc. and Reddit Inc. are among employers that have ended or reduced remote-work arrangements recently as managers demand more collaboration, closer contact with customers—and more control over the workday. (Subscription required.)
Leadership & Management
10 Big Software PM Time Wasters
Is your calendar packed? Looking for things to take off your to-do list? In this article, John Cutler shares some of the biggest time sucks he has experienced as a product manager. Check it out and learn what to stop wasting your time on.
What to Do When Your People Are Leaving
A sudden spike in people leaving your team or company can be terrifying and likely indicates bigger, underlying problems. Don't bury your head in the sand, address the problems head on. Niko Canner explains how to get at the root causes of people leaving and what you can do to fix things.
The Uneasy Blurring of Work & Play
"Play is freedom within constraint, which means improvising, tinkering, disputing the rules and debating the scoreline. It’s the sublime moment of skill before the score, the thrill of the chase. If we do live in a simulation, whoever designed it was a genius — because they knew that pleasure isn’t the point. We keep score so that we can play; we don’t play in order to have scores to keep. What should you be doing with as much of your time as you can manage?" - Tom Chatfield
Finding your way from maker to manager
Transitioning from engineer to manager is challenging, but becoming a manager of managers is even harder. In this article, Brian Scanlan of Intercom looks back on his journey from engineer to a manager of managers and shares some important lessons he learned along the way.
Productivity & Estimation
Track and Facilitate Your Engineers’ Flow States In This Simple Way
In this First Round Review interview with Cynthia Maxwell, she explains her framework for evaluating her engineers' flow and shares the simple graph that has become a powerful tool to her as a manager. Learn how anxiety and boredom creep into a team and how managers can get engineers back on track and into a state of flow.
YAGNI, Cargo Cult and Overengineering - the Planes Won't Land Just Because You Built a Runway in Your Backyard · CodeAhoy
When considering what to build, it's important to keep YAGNI in mind. What's YAGNI? "You aren't going to need it." Another thing to look out for is cargo cult software development. That's when you blindly follow the lead of big companies that you admire, hoping that you will find the same success as them. In this article, Umer Mansoor details ways to avoid cargo cult and overengineering. Remember, "don’t build Formula One cars when you need a Corolla."
Only Slightly Off-Topic
The Difference Between Amateurs and Professionals
Would you consider yourself an amateur or a professional? It's easy to answer from an athletic perspective, but what about when thinking about your career? Not sure? Check out this article to find out the key differences between the two and determine where you fall.
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